But for Muskegon, at least February 2014 wasn’t nearly as snowy as January. For that matter, it wasn’t nearly as snowy as February 2013 – how soon we forget – when the month set an all-time record for February snowfall.

This year, 27.1 inches of snow had fallen at the Muskegon County Airport in February as of noon Friday, Feb. 28. That was 7.8 inches above the average February total of 19.3 inches, according to meteorolgist Brian Meade of the National Weather Service Grand Rapids office.

But it was barely half of last year’s February total of 53.3 inches, Meade said. That easily broke a record of 45.8 inches that had stood since 1981.

February also wasn’t as snow-filled as January, when Muskegon recorded 48.4 inches.

For the season to date, which has seen heavy snow ever since Thanksgiving, Muskegon has recorded 123.6 inches of snow, Meade said.

We’re unlikely to break the record seasonal total of 174 inches set in the long-remembered winter of 1981-82. But we may still crack the top 10 snowiest winters – that would take about another 13 inches, with 10th place currently being held by the winter of 1989-90 at 136.7 inches.

Muskegon did set another record on the very last day of February, hitting a low temperature of 7 below zero at baround 4 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28 – the coldest for that date by a full seven degrees. The previous record low for the date was zero set in 1970.

More snow is predicted for both Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, broken by a sunny Monday, March 3. A chance of snow showers is predicted for each day after that well into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

John
S. Hausman covers courts, prisons, the environment and local government for
MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at jhausman@mlive.com and follow
him on Twitter.